I have been on Winter Break since the 21st of December. Each year, I say that it is not long enough and that I could use another week, another month, yet I am somewhat ready to return to the familiar, the flow of the day, the work, the week.

There is a spot on my couch from which I can watch the sun rise at home, partially blocked by other townhomes and my own roof, but it’s just enough of a view that I get the most significant bits. I have managed to catch it almost every morning now that the dog and I are in a groove of getting up before God is awake and crawling back into bed to sleep a bit longer before we really get out of bed to greet the day appropriately. During the regular work week when I’m not on break, I see the sun beginning to rise as I round the corner onto the street parallel to the interstate, the deep oranges starting to show themselves along the horizon with the rest of the sky growing a deeper blue, then brighter, then lighter.

Some days, there are no colors, the clouds hiding everything, only allowing the light to remove the darkness but letting no color through, keeping things gray.

Each January, a friend offers a word to ground us in the new year. Words like simplicity, gratitude, change, growth…nouns that encompass something important we want or need from the new year.

Last night, as she led several of us through a lovely Yin practice via Zoom, I determined my own word for 2024. 

Some days, I have felt colorful and bright…others, gray and small, hidden behind clouds. 

But, like the sun, there was never a day that I didn’t rise.

I chose this word because it is both a verb and a noun. Essentially, it means to move forward, upward, to make progress. There is no stagnancy in the idea of “rise.” 

It’s easy to stay where things are comfortable and predictable, plodding along. That’s not to say that everything should be upended, but rather, intentional change leads to progress…and keeps things vibrant.